Akatsuki High School
by VTPM
Summary: (AU) The most dreaded year of a student's life: freshman year. As a group of friends enter high school for the first time, they struggle to adjust and fit in with the older students. Drama will ensue.
1. Chapter 1

If there was an official worst year of school, it was freshmen year. It was always impossible to tell what to expect. They say kids are more mature in high school, but in many cases, that's a lie. Students were most awkward in these years, and many were forced into classes with older students for the first time. It was complete chaos.

It seemed especially that way for a group of 5 mismatched friends.

Their names were Itachi, Tobi, Konan, Deidara, and Hidan.

Yes, mismatched indeed they were. It was only by a series of apparent miracles that the group were where they were today.

It had originally started with Itachi, the quiet and surprisingly nerdy Uchiha. He was the kid who no one really noticed. He sat in the back, he didn't participate in class, he didn't reach out to others for help. He was in all the available advanced classes and breezed through them. He was always bored in school, and wasn't afraid to let it show. Itachi supposed his demeanor or exceptionally high intelligence might be what chased others away, but he didn't mind so much. He was lonely, yes, but he had his brother to go home to and he supposed that was enough.

That was when his relative moved into town and started going to the same school district as him.

At first Itachi had no interest in his loud, energetic counterpart that was Tobi. But as the hyperactive Uchiha started drawing attention from the school's notorious bullies for his naive and friendly personality, Itachi's over protectiveness that he had for Sasuke kicked in and he soon found himself standing up for Tobi despite his usual silent calmness, and constantly in the presence of his relative.

Tobi himself had seemed to quiet down considerably himself after the bullying incidents and even turned anxious and paranoid around strangers, worried the cruel treatment would happen again, and only returned to his outgoing self around Itachi. Itachi's calm personality did a good job at helping Tobi feel a bit more confident in himself and he picked up on Itachi's relaxed attitude when he was around him.

It remained just the two of them for a while, but eventually as the 6th grade wore on, Tobi found himself sitting next to a blonde boy who had a knack for ceramics in art class.

Itachi was surprised when Tobi had dragged the blonde artist to their lunch table with a smile on his face. Apparently the Uchiha had found the artist's clay sculptures intriguing and had opened up to him considerably over a short period of time. Deidara was added to the group officially then. He was mostly calm and cool like Itachi, though had his moments of outburst, but they didn't seem to frighten Tobi off at all and soon it wasn't an uncommon sight for the black haired boy to be seen following the blonde between classes and listening intently to Deidara's views on art.

Next had been Konan, a new student who had been paired with Itachi for a class project, which with their paired intellect, had received the highest grade of the class. Deciding they worked well together, Itachi had invited her to join their group. Being new and not having any other friends at the time, she accepted and fit into the group well. Itachi enjoyed her wit, Deidara respected her artistic pursuit of origami, and Tobi was comfortable enough with her gentle ways.

Finally there was Hidan, known for being a religious eccentric, his cursing habits, and his violent temper.

After making the mistake of insulting Deidara's art while in a particularly bad mood, the two had gotten into an all out fight that left them both pretty messed up and earned them both a week's suspension.

Apparently the fight had earned Deidara some respect in the zealot's eyes and after the suspension was up, the silver haired student called truce and started hanging around the blonde before finally approaching the group at lunch. It was a shaky friendship at first, but once Hidan showed signs of dropping his violence around them and Tobi became accustomed to his loud and unpredictable behavior, he was accepted into the group and they soon discovered he wasn't so bad once you got passed the cursing, religious preaching, and aggressive attitude.

Their friendship lasted through middle school without too much drama or fighting, but now was the first day of high school, a whole new ball park.

Tobi was looking ready to have a heart attack, gripping Deidara's sleeve tightly while hiding behind Itachi, looking at the brick building in absolute terror.

"C'mon Tobi, relax. It won't be so bad, hn." Deidara said, trying to comfort the panicking Uchiha.

Itachi sighed, knowing his relative was probably having bad flash backs of 6th grade. After all, freshman year was that, only worse.

The three were waiting outside as the other students filled into the building, chatting excitedly.

Finally they caught sight of familiar blue hair among the crowd and Deidara called out a greeting as Konan made her way over to them with Hidan in tow.

"I almost didn't see you guys! Come on, we better hurry if we don't want to be late to our classes." Konan said, not seeming too worked over the new school year.

Tobi moaned in despair and buried his face in Deidara's shoulder.

"Let's just fucking go already..." Hidan mumbled, looking completely exhausted, which was very out of place for him, especially considering he nearly looked as tired as Itachi always did.

The others nodded and followed the last of the crowd into the building. The group found the freshman locker section without too much trouble, though Itachi had to help Tobi with his locker since the boy's hand was shaking too badly to do the combination himself.

"You need to calm down... It might not be so bad..." Itachi murmured.

"Are you kidding me..?! Look how big these lockers are..! I'm gonna get shoved in one for sure..!" Tobi whispered.

"You don't know that... Now come on, what class do you have first?"

"English.."

Itachi nodded. "That's just in the other hall. You can get there yourself, right?"

Tobi's eye widened. "C-Can't you walk me there?"

Itachi shook his head. "I have a math class and that's on the opposite side of the school... I'll be really late if I do.." If there was one thing Itachi hated, it was being late.

Tobi sighed and nodded miserably as Itachi walked away, leaving him to glance around nervously and start towards his first period class, praying silently no one would notice him in fear that if they did, he'd end up in a trash can like he had so many times in middle school.


	2. Chapter 2

This school year was very different in the eyes of older students however. They knew the way to act, the teachers, the halls. There wasn't any fear.

Especially not for Pein. In fact, everyone in the school was pretty sure the senior had no fears. He was popular, got good grades, was respected by other guys, giggled about by girls... Yeah, he had everything set up for himself pretty well. He had a college in mind for graduation and had the open road in front of him. He was the kind of guy with so much self confidence that if he told you he'd rule the world, he'd say it with such meaning that you'd believe he really could.

He smiled to himself. World domination wasn't such a bad goal, was it? Maybe he would try it.

"Hi Pein~" One of the junior girls said, waving at him.

He just smiled and waved back, making the girl practically faint.

Yes, his confidence had earned him a high reputation. He enjoyed being liked and accepted, though he never returned any of the feelings girls of his school showed for him. He would be kind and reply to those who talked to him, but if a girl asked him out, he always rejected them. And the few times he had said yes, he usually ended up breaking up with them after only a week or two.

Pein could easily read people, and he was aware of what was going on in these girls' heads when they asked him out. It was all for attention, popularity, and the sake of saying they were dating arguably the most popular boy in school. He didn't want a fake relationship. If he was going to go out with a girl, he wanted it to be the one, a relationship that would last outside of school.

He had earned a reputation as a heart breaker through his constant rejections, which he didn't care for quite so much. Pein wasn't doing it for amusement, it wasn't that he enjoyed crushing these girls' dreams or anything, but he knew denying it was worthless. Let them think what they wanted.

Pein entered his first period class with his usual cocky smile on his face. He made a quick survey of the room before taking a seat front and center of the room.

The room started filling slowly, and soon the seat on his right was taken by another flirtatious senior, who he greeted kindly when she said hi, though otherwise began to ignore her.

The seat on his left was soon taken as well, and he was surprised to see a freshman girl with pretty blue hair with a white flower in it. She didn't acknowledge him immediately, but after she had settled her supplies, she finally turned to him and held out her hand in a professional manner.

"Hello, my name's Konan."

Pein was surprised at first. A girl had never just wanted to shake his hand before. There wasn't any flirty tone in her voice and though she was smiling, it was in a nerdy, innocent way.

"My name is Pein." He replied, taking her offered hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. You're a senior I assume?"

He nodded. "Yes. And you must be freshman."

She nodded in return, though when the teacher entered the room, her full attention went to them, and not once did she cast him another look during the class, unlike the girl on his right.

 _Something about this freshman was interesting_ , he decided. 

* * *

Sasori watched blankly as students filed into the art room, making far too much noise with their talking than they should.  
He scowled, hating everything about the first day of school. It was too loud and there was a whole new batch of annoying little brats that were freshman.

Sasori was the lone wolf type. He hated groups and forced one-on-one conversations. In fact, he hated all human interactions all together. He preferred staying quietly to himself in his wood workshop or with a sketch book.

The teacher finally arrived and began assigning seats, which aggravated the red head to no end. If they could pick their one seats, he'd have a table to himself.

He was a junior, but well known for his cold and cruel personality. Sasori didn't have friends, nor did he want any. He didn't often, but he was also known as a bully. The red head mostly stayed to himself and simply glared at any who dared get to close, but he had also had his moments of knocking people's supplies out of their hands, cruelly mocking others' mistakes, and shoving anyone aside who stood in his way.

He was disliked by every student, but that suited him just fine, as that meant no one tried to bother him. But every year, a new group of freshmen came in that he had to put in place.

Much to his annoyance, the teacher had him seated next to a freshman, which no doubt meant a loud, obnoxious, arrogant, immature brat who would find art to be nothing more than an easy grade and would probably throw paint and colored pencils everywhere whenever the teacher wasn't looking, making a huge mess... Yes, Sasori had some bad experiences with freshmen and he hated them with a burning passion.

A blonde boy with blue eyes sat down next to him, though remained silent and didn't give Sasori a single glance, not seeming interested in the slightest. This came as a relief to Sasori, and he enjoyed the silence while it lasted.

Then it came, "My name's Deidara, hn."

"Good for you..." Sasori muttered without looking at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy make a face of distaste.

"What the hell's your problem, hn?"

"And what's yours, hn?" Sasori asked scathingly, mocking the noise Deidara made occasionally at the end of his sentences.

Deidara reddened slightly in a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "It's a speech impediment..."

Sasori snorted. "God, I've only just met you and you're clearly a loser."

Deidara glared at the red head hatefully. "Serious, what the hell? I haven't done anything to you! Why do you have to be such a jerk?!"

Sasori just ignored him this time, and the rest of the class was spent in icy, tense silence.

* * *

Math class.  
Kisame's most hated subject. It was easily his worst class, though he didn't complain. He had asked for it when he put one of the harder classes on his schedule. He was a senior and assumed it would be a good class to take with its difficulty level in hopes of it making college easier for himself. If he learned harder things now, it would make college courses a lot less intimidating, right?

Most people just assumed he was the typical jock. Only caring about sports, not very bright, only got good grades because the coaches and teachers gave him favor, but that wasn't true. He cared about a lot more than just the sports he was in, he was intelligent, though he simply struggled in math or on difficult concepts just like any other student, and he worked and studied hard to earn his grades. He did have a tendency to crack jokes during class, but not so much that it interfered with the lesson.

Kisame entered the advanced math class and took a seat in the back next to a raven haired freshman. The boy had his hair pulled back in a loose ponytail and had an exhausted look on his face as he stared foward in boredom.

Grinning, he decided maybe he'd be fun to mess with, and Kisame leaned over to poke him.

The freshman blinked and returned to reality, giving Kisame a questioning look.

"What are you looking so down about, huh?" Kisame asked, still grinning.

All he got was a shrug for a response.

Irritated at not getting more of a reaction, he prodded a little more. "I'd ask if school wasn't your thing, but if you're in this class, it must be, right?"

"I guess so..."

Deciding to try a new tactic, Kisame held out his hand. "Kisame Hoshigaki."

"Itachi Uchiha..." The boy replied, taking the senior's hand and shaking it, though winced when Kisame purposely gripped a bit too tightly and smirked.

Itachi still wouldn't give anything more than a short neutral answer and that uninterested look never shifted.

"Man, you're a real stick in the mud you know. You need to loosen up." Kisame told him, clapping the younger student on the shoulder roughly.

"Get you hand off me..." Itachi's expression had darkened a hint of warning had crept into his voice.

Taking notice of this, Kisame quickly removed his hand. "Jeez, sorry man. Did know you were so touchy."

"It's fine.. Just don't do it again please.."

Kisame nodded and decided to give the freshman a little space before continuing to push his buttons.

 _At least he's polite_...

* * *

In the advanced science class, a notorious senior named Kakuzu scowled at the freshman that had just burst into the room loudly, 5 minutes late.  
The teacher gave him a forced smile and told him to take a seat.

The silver haired boy nodded and took an empty seat up front, right next to Kakuzu and remained oblivious to a gasp and murmuring going on from the other students, nor had he noticed that the seats around the senior were purposely kept empty and avoided.

Kakuzu glared at the moron next to him, who continued to ignore what was happening around him.

Kakuzu was easily one of the worst bullies in the school, if not the worst. He was cold and distant, not to mention sadistic. He had a short temper and when he lost it, he became violent. Kids that got in a fight with him were often sent to the hospital.

And then here was this poor freshman, unaware of the fact that he'd just signed his own death certificate.

Kakuzu decided to just try and ignore him, but 10 minutes into the class, the freshman put his head down and started to doze off.

This got under Kakuzu's skin for some reason. This brat was only a freshman and was in an advanced science class, but had the nerve to fall asleep on the first day? Kakuzu for one cared much for his grades, and seeing someone being so careless about school pissed him off. He knew it wasn't his business, but he couldn't keep from frowning under his mask.

Losing his patience, Kakuzu waited until the teacher wasn't looking before punching the freshman as hard as he could in the arm.

The silver haired boy jerked his head up and looked around in a tired daze, seeming to have forgotten where he was. After a moment, he caught Kakuzu's glare and realized what happened.

"What the hell was that for..?!" The freshman hissed angrily.

"You were sleeping." Kakuzu stated in a deep, rumbling voice.

The freshman didn't look intimidated in the slightest. "So?! That doesn't mean you fucking punch me!"

"Is there a problem over there?" The teacher called, glaring at the two for interrupting the class.

"No..." The silver haired boy muttered, turning away from Kakuzu.

The senior snorted. He could already tell this kid needed to be knocked down a peg or two. The freshman had a target on his back now, and Kakuzu silently pledged to make the kid wish he was dead.

* * *

Zetsu hummed quietly to himself, watering the small potted plant in the English room's window. He enjoyed plants and found them pretty, even the non-flowering ones. He would even go so far as to say he preferred plants over pets.  
Students started entering the room then, though the junior paid no mind. He noticed a few people cast him odd looks though ignored it. He was used to it and was well aware that he was a social outcast, even if he wasn't entirely sure why he was treated as if he were inhuman.

He supposed part of it could be his obsession with plants, but inside he knew it was his personality. Everyone assumed he had split personality or bipolar disorder, which really wasn't true. He was quiet, calm, friendly, and passionate, but if he was approached by someone he knew meant him harm or saw someone getting bullied in the hall, he would get defensive and would become verbally or physically violent if the situation demanded it.

He was no longer bothered by bullies at all anymore, but everyone in the school saw him as a freak and avoided him. He didn't have friends and it was lonely, but he didn't let it get him down and kept a positive outlook on everything.

He took his seat in the back of the class though looked up when he heard a nervous voice behind him. "E-Excuse me, could I sit next to you..?"

Zetsu blinked and looked up to see a freshman with short black hair looking at him in fear, though the anxious expression didn't catch his attention too much. He was used to it. What interested him more was the eye patch over the kid's left eye.

Realizing he hadn't answered the freshman's question, Zetsu nodded. "Sure, go ahead."

The kid looked relieved and quickly sat down, clumsily dropping his pencil and retrieving it off the floor hastily.

"My name's Zetsu." The junior said softly. This kid seemed flighty. He didn't want to scare him off or make him more uncomfortable than he clearly already was.

"O-Oh, hi, my name's Tobi.." The freshman replied, offering a shaky smile.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. You don't need to look so scared you know.. I won't hurt you."

Tobi seemed to relax slightly. "Sorry.. I got bullied a lot in middle school... I-I haven't really gotten over it..." He said shyly.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I used to get bullied a lot too, so I know it feels bad... If you ever have any problems, let me know, okay?" Zetsu offered.

Tobi nodded with a bit of enthusiasm. "Th-Thank you.. That means a lot to me..."

Zetsu smiled reassuringly at him, and soon class started up. It went by fairly quickly without any problems and as the class was dismissed, Zetsu stopped Tobi before he could bolt from the room.

"Hey, um.. If you wanted, I could sit with you at lunch." He offered, hoping he wasn't pushing his luck with the paranoid freshman.

Tobi seemed to consider it for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that... It'd be nice of you.."

Zetsu was inwardly relieved and nodded. "Alright, I'll see you then." He said, finally letting the freshman go, who quickly scurried out of the room.

Zetsu smiled faintly. _Maybe things would be better this year._..


	3. Chapter 3

Hidan stomped into his next class, which was math. He couldn't stand the subject and it was always his lowest grade. He'd done just fine with the basics, but once they started throwing in the whole fucking alphabet, graphs, tables, and the long vocabulary words, he'd started falling behind all the other students in the grade.

He sighed in relief when he caught sight of Deidara, and he immediately went and sat next to him, more than ready to vent about science class for the sake of his sanity.

Deidara looked up at Hidan as he slumped into the seat next to him, and the zealot noticed the blonde seemed to be in a bad mood as well.

"Hey Hidan, hn..."

"First period was shit.." Hidan muttered, glaring at the front of the room.

Deidara nodded. "Yeah... This one kid actually managed to ruin art class for me..."

The silver haired boy gave him a surprised look. "Seriously?"

"Mhm.. This asshole called me a loser for no reason and made fun of my speech impediment..."

Hidan shook his head. "This place fucking sucks..."

"What happened to you?"

"This fuck face punched me 'cause I fell asleep in class and nearly got me in trouble.. I can't fucking afford to get suspended or put in detention on the first day! He-" Hidan stopped abruptly and glared at the all-too-familiar masked senior that had just walked into the room. "That little fucker..."

Deidara followed his gaze to the door and shuddered when Kakuzu shot them both a deadly glare. "That's the guy..?"

Hidan nodded, never letting his gaze leave the senior's back. "I'm gonna kick his ass..."

Deidara's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?! Do you see how much bigger he is than you?! You'll get killed!"

Hidan sniffed. "I'm not scared of him..."

"You should be..!" Deidara hissed.

The teacher entered the room then and Hidan turned his head away from the blonde, not wanting to continue the conversation.

Deidara noticed and sighed, deciding not to press him. He knew how stubborn Hidan could be when he made up his mind about something. 

* * *

"So you play any sports?"

Itachi sighed. Kisame had decided to follow him from the advanced math class to history, which they also shared together.

"No, I don't..."

"Hm.. That's too bad. You should consider joining one."

Itachi glanced up at him. "Look, I get you're trying to be nice, but I don't have the time for it.."

Kisame blinked. He thought he could sense a hidden meaning behind those words, but he wasn't sure if he should question it or not.

"Look, let's just get to class..." Itachi murmured, looking away.

"Right..." Kisame agreed. There was certainly something wrong, but it was the freshman's first day and it would be wrong of him to push Itachi into an uncomfortable situation by asking too much.

Itachi was relieved to see Konan in the room and excused himself to Kisame, then hurried over to join her.

"Hi Itachi. How was first period?" She greeted.

"Not too bad. You?"

"It was good. I met this senior named Pein and he seemed nice enough."

Itachi nodded absently, seeming distracted thinking of something else at the moment.

Konan frowned, "You feeling alright?"

"Huh..? Oh, yes I'm fine.."

"You don't seem it.."

Itachi didn't respond to her, looking down at his lap silently to avoid eye contact.

Knowing better than to press him, Konan nodded, though was still concerned about what was wrong. 

* * *

Tobi shuddered. Gym was his next class and none of his friends were in sight and Zetsu had went down another hall, so he clearly didn't have the class with him.

Shaking nervously, the Uchiha stepped into the large room, glancing around for a place to stand until the teacher came in.

After a few minutes, two teachers entered the room, one being a blonde woman and the other a white haired male.

"Hello, class! And welcome to 2nd period Physical Education!" The man said, smiling. "My name's Jiraiya and-"

"And I'm Tsunade." The blonde cut him off, not seeming to want him to introduce her. "We'll be your teachers this year."

"Now, I know all your other classes are probably going over rules today, so to keep from dumping it all on you at once, we're going to just have a free day of dodge ball before we get into rules. Got it?" Jiraiya said.

The class cheered.

Tobi paled.

Before he knew it, the class had separated into 2 teams and were facing each other on opposite sides of the room. When the whistle blew, Tobi stayed at the back as much as he could, dodging anything that came at him with a squeak.

Panic set in after 10 minutes when only he and one other boy was left on his team, while four remained on the opposing side.

Tobi glanced nervously at his teammate for help.

The boy was a sophomore with white hair and a scar over his left eye, as well as a cloth mask over his mouth.

He seemed to notice Tobi's terrified expression and frowned slightly, then threw the ball he was holding and hit one of the opposing players right in the chest with expert precision.

Tobi blinked a bit in awe. Gym had never been his strongest class. This kid seemed to excel at it though. The next ball the white haired boy threw took out yet another of the other players, and shortly took out another.

Tobi still just hung back, worried it would hurt to get hit.

All that was left on the other team was a boy dressed in all green with black hair in a bowl cut.

"I'll beat you yet, Kakashi!" The other player called out, chucking a ball at the sophomore.

After a minute, Kakashi finally hit the other player in the leg, winning the game. The teammates that had been taken out cheered, and Tobi sighed, looking at the floor. He'd been completely useless the entire game.

Yes, this would be a long year... 

* * *

Kakuzu felt his patience running as that freshman brat hadn't stopped glaring at him the entire class. He was an exemplary math student and had passed all the required math classes with high A's and now served as a teacher's aide/tutor in the free period he had.

Kakuzu glanced back again at the freshman, and this time the kid stood and walked up to him, his blonde friend watching with his mouth open and a horrified look on his face.

 _Seems his friend's not as stupid._..

"What do you want?" Kakuzu growled.

"Look, I don't fucking care how cool you think you are or whatever, but know I'm not scared of you. I'll fight you any time or any place." The freshman said, pure anger in his eyes.

 _Kid's got guts_...

"Hmph... Walk away now before you get yourself into something you can't handle..." Kakuzu warned. He'd fought kids bigger than this little twerp before.

The silver haired boy gave him a dead serious look. "I'm serious. Name the time and place, and I'll be there. I'm not going to put up with your shit, so I just want this over with now."

Kakuzu glared back at him and snorted. "Get out of my sight.. You don't know who you're messing with..."

Before the freshman could respond, the teacher yelled at him to go back to his seat.

Cursing, the silver haired kid turned and stomped back to his seat and the blonde immediately smacked him on the head. "Hidan, what the hell are you thinking?!"

The freshman, Hidan apparently being his name, didn't seem to care and refused to acknowledge his friend's scoldings.

 _What a moron... He's just asking to be killed_... 

* * *

Shaking his head, Sasori walked into his 2nd period class. His entire day was going to be shit and he knew it. Art was his favorite class and that blonde had ruined it.

He silently started planning on how to get back at him for it. If he could put the freshman in his place, maybe things would go more smoothly.

Sasori sighed, noticing the way everyone avoided sitting next to him. That was just fine though, and he pulled his sketch book from his bag, starting to doodle.

First day sucked. All the classes were just going over rules he'd heard a million times and 'about me' activities.

What did the other students care to know about him? Nothing. He knew that much. And he didn't care to know about the other students either.

The most personal thing anyone knew about him at this school was that he liked art, and that was a pretty obvious fact. Everything else he kept buried deep inside and hidden, lest it bring back painful memories for him.

Sasori closed his eyes for a moment as if he was holding something back, then reopened them and returned to drawing. 

* * *

Pein listened boredly to the science teacher, Orochimaru, going on about classroom procedures. He was well aware of the rules of the lab room, as well as the rules about the large pet snake that lived in a tank at the back of the room. Everyone was well that only the teacher's pet Kabuto was allowed to handle the creature.

For some reason, he kept finding himself getting distracted and thinking of that freshman, Konan. Yes, he had actually bothered to learn a freshman's name on the first day. Very out of character for himself, that was for sure.

Something about her was different, and different intrigued him. He'd gotten so used to the way all the other girls were around him, that the way she had acted so professional and indifferent as if he were an equal, not some sort of celebrity, was refreshing. Helped keep him in touch with the fact that he was just an ordinary senior student, not some movie star. It was nice to feel normal for once. 

* * *

During computer class, Zetsu felt practically ready to fall asleep as the teacher droned on all the obvious facts and rules about computers and the class. Something about it was simply exhausting.

He was patient though, and he accepted the torture that was the monotone lecture.

As the class started to come to an end, he couldn't help but wonder about how the freshman Tobi was fairing. He seemed so sensitive and fragile... And Zetsu was well aware of how cruel people could be.

 _I hope he's getting along okay... It's be a real shame if he got picked on in the state he's in after having to go through it already in middle school like he said_...

The bell rang then and pulled Zetsu out of his thoughts. He gathered his supplies and left the room, heading for his next class.

 _Maybe I'll have a few more classes with him_..

Zetsu wasn't sure why, but he felt some sort of want to protect the boy. He figured it just had to do with having been in a similar situation once himself and knowing how hurtful it could be.

 _Or maybe I'm just lonely and desperate for a friend after not having any for so long_... He thought, though pushed it aside and hurried to his next class.


	4. Chapter 4

Deidara looked up from his sketchbook in surprise when Tobi slumped into the seat next to him.

"Bad day, hm?" He asked, slightly concerned.

Tobi just nodded quietly, which worried the blonde even more.

"No one's been picking on you, have they?"

"Not yet." The Uchiha replied, still seeming a bit down, though he perked up a few seconds later. "I did meet someone nice though. His name was Zetsu."

Deidara blinked. He knew Tobi had trouble making new friends, so he was surprised but glad to hear he'd met someone on the first day. "That's good, hm. You'll have to point him out to me sometime."

"He said I could sit with him at lunch today. You can meet him then."

Deidara nodded. "Sounds fine. As long as Hidan doesn't get pissy with me not being there for one day."

"I'm sure Hidan won't mind. He still has Konan and Itachi to talk to." Tobi pointed out.

The artist just scoffed and rolled him eyes. The thought of the three of them stuck together wasn't the most comforting one.

 _But they'll have to get along for one day without Tobi and me. I know Tobi's naive and I want to see what this Zetsu guy is all about._

* * *

"What a coincidence we have the same class for a third time in a row."

Itachi sighed, finding himself being followed by Kisame once again as they made their way toward gym class. _A coincidence indeed_... He thought.

After listening to the brief introduction by the two teachers, as well as a death threat from Tsunade to Jiraiya over something he'd whispered to her and began giggling about, the room was set up for a game of dodge ball, much like it had been for the other class.

The group was split into two teams and went to opposite sides of the room.

The black haired boy was faintly surprised Kisame hadn't began bothering him already, and after a brief scan of the opposing side, he realized it was because they weren't on the same team.

The game began and Itachi simply tried to stay near the back, not interested in participating in the least, though he tried to keep a lookout for anything coming his way.

Kisame noticed his disinterested expression, as well as the fact that no one on his own team was bothering to aim at the Uchiha yet, so he decided to try and provoke the freshman into participating. He aimed the ball high so it would be easy to dodge, though he still threw it hard and rather fast. He was irritated though, when a junior got in the way and was hit instead, sparing Itachi the effort of dodging himself.

As the minutes wore on, the number of members on each team dwindled until Kisame was the last on his team and three were left on Itachi's, including the black haired boy himself.

He grinned in anticipation when one of the others forced Itachi to take a ball and told him to throw it.

He seemed reluctant, but carefully stepped forward and prepared to throw it at the senior. Kisame was genuinely surprised when the rather weak and effortless throw passed him with no harm, several feet to his right. The freshman seemed quite determined to do as little in the game as possible. Many of the other students laughed at the failed throw, but Itachi kept a blank, uncaring look on his face, not showing any outer signs of minding.

Kisame aimed another high but hard throw at Itachi, hoping he'd at least put some effort into dodging.

However, he seemed unaware that he was in danger until the last moment, where he merely blinked in surprise at the object so close to him before it hit him straight in the face and knocked him to the floor.

Kisame could only watch in shock as Jiraiya escorted him to the nurse's office with a bloody nose.

 _I really thought he'd dodge it._..

* * *

Konan could only stare at the English teacher in morbid fascination as he ranted on about something she hardly understood. Something about the power of youth..?

She started at the sound of a voice behind her. "Don't look so disturbed. He's really a good teacher."

The blue haired girl glanced back to see Pein taking the seat next to her, smiling faintly.

"I'll try to keep that in mind..." She murmured, hoping the senior was right. She wasn't sure she could deal with this much high energy otherwise. It was already bad enough she had Tobi and Hidan to put up with. One girl could only take so much insanity in a single day.

Another student entered the room then, a red haired boy who seemed to be a year or two older than Konan, and the teacher called out, "There's another one of my youthful students! Glad you could make it to class! Try to be on time from now on though, alright?"

Sasori just shot Guy a death glare before silently taking a seat in the back of the room, pulling out a sketchbook and ignoring the rest of the class.

Konan watched him curiously for a second before Pein regained her attention. "I wouldn't try to get his attention if I were you. Sasori has no interest in other people, and has a known mean streak if you get on his bad side. You're better off leaving him to his own devices."

She nodded sightly in response, though inwardly she wasn't all too sure. After all, Hidan had been fairly distant and cold when they'd first met as well, but after making friends with Deidara and the rest of the group, he had changed considerably.

 _Would he really be any different?_

* * *

Zetsu frowned as the art teacher began assigning seats. He was inwardly mildly upset that Tobi didn't seem to be in this class either, though he kept it hidden well.

Things only got worse when he found out only one other person would be sitting at his table which meant there would be forced interactions, and who it was.

The senior, Kakuzu.

Zetsu wasn't as intimidated by him as most other people were, though he still didn't feel comfortable being forced to interact with him either.

As the class started up, neither of them made any attempt to communicate with each other, which honestly was just fine for both parties.

At the free time at the end of class, he was aware of several people glancing at their table and dubbing it the 'freak table' in hushed voices. Despite how sneaky and quiet they seemed to think they were being, it clearly wasn't enough, as Zetsu noticed Kakuzu shot a glare full of daggers at them.

Zetsu didn't bother getting involved, knowing he could tell the other students to shut up or tell Kakuzu to ignore them, and shrugged to himself.  
 _  
Let them say whatever they want. It's their funeral._

* * *

Hidan was more than annoyed upon entering his 3rd period class, which was Current Events, and finding that he didn't know anyone in there, not to mention the teacher by the name of Asuma gave off a vibe that had the zealot hating him immediately.

He went to the back of the room to get as far from the teacher as he could and took a seat. A few moments later, a white haired sophomore took the seat next to him and Hidan scowled. He had been hoping to be left alone during this class, as he was in a bad mood and preferred not to be bothered.

However the white haired boy ignored him entirely and kept his attention aimed toward the front of the class as he waited for it to begin, even as a brown haired girl with purple markings on her cheeks sat next to him.

"Hello Kakashi. How was your day so far?" She greeted him.

"Hey. It was fine. What about you Rin?"

The girl, Rin, smiled brightly. "It's been great. I overheard you won the dodge ball game in gym and were the only one still standing."

"Yeah. And?" Kakashi asked, entirely indifferent and still not even looking at her as he talked.

"Well, that's really great! You have real talent you know." She practically gushed, and Hidan rolled his eyes, suppressing the urge to make a snide comment.

"Think so?"

Rin nodded enthusiastically, though Asuma stood before their conversation could continue and went to the front of the class. "To begin with, we're going to go around the room and each person will introduce themselves. Say your name, likes, dislikes, goals, and hobbies."

Hidan tried to tune out of what everyone was saying as best he could, though felt his irritation rise as it neared his turn.

Rin stood and smiled with that same sickeningly sweet smile that made Hidan want to gag. She seemed like the goody two-shoes type. "Hello, my name is Rin Nohara. I like school and my friends, I dislike bullying and when people get hurt, my goal is to become a doctor, and my hobbies are studying, reading, and helping others."

Kakashi stood next with a sigh. "I'm Kakashi Hatake.. I don't feel like telling you what I like and dislike. My goals..." He trailed off, then shrugged and continued, "As for hobbies... I have a lot of hobbies." He then sat back down, signifying he was done sharing.

Asuma looked surprised but decided not to push him into saying more. Finally he signaled to Hidan to stand.

Growling, Hidan stood and quickly said, "My name is Hidan Yu, I like my religion, I hate everyone in this room, specifically you," He said, pointing at Asuma. "My goals are my own damned business, and my hobbies are praying." He left it at that and took his seat once more.

The room was in a shocked silence at his words, and the he heard the thing he'd been hoping he wouldn't have to hear today of all days.

"Hidan, go to the office."

 _Aw, fuck... Today's the shittiest day ever.._.


End file.
